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A new whitewater rafting course at the Georgia-Alabama state line is drawing big crowds for its grand opening after nearly 13 years of work. Officials opened the rapids to rafters on Saturday. It cost nearly $24.4 million to tear down two dams on the river between Columbus and Phenix City, Ala., and build the 2.5-mile course.

Crews plan to blow up another dam Tuesday morning to help create a man-made whitewater course on the Chattahoochee River. Workers plan to blast a 100-foot section out of the City Mills Dam around 10:30 a.m.

After more than a decade of planning and construction, a man-made whitewater course on the Chattahoochee River will open May 25. It is expected to attract adventurers from around the South. Business and civic leaders on Thursday announced the opening date during a ceremony on a pedestrian bridge overlooking the river.

Three new hotels are opening in the Columbus area in the coming months. Hoteliers are banking on the new whitewater course through downtown and continued business related to Fort Benning to fill the roughly 300 new rooms.

Communities along the Chattooga River are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movie's release with this weekend's first ever Chattooga River Festival. The film helped create the $20 million rafting and outdoor sports industry along the river.

Several hundred people gathered on the east bank of the Chattahoochee to commemorate the launching of a $23 million project to bring whitewater rafting to Columbus and Phenix City, Alabama. Work on the project began several weeks ago. The event on Thursday, dubbed "RiverBlasting," brought a ceremonial beginning to what supporters say will be the longest whitewater course in an urban setting in the world at 2.5 miles.